Recently, a hybrid vehicle having a plug-in function for charging a high voltage battery with an external battery charging facility, and a vehicle having a preliminary air conditioning function for air-conditioning a compartment of the vehicle before a user gets in the vehicle, have been developed. When the vehicle has the plug-in function and the preliminary air-conditioning function, it is necessary to activate an electronic control device for executing a certain function under a condition that a main switch of the vehicle such as an ignition switch is in an off state.
For example, when the high voltage battery is charged using the plug-in function, a plug-in hybrid electronic control device (i.e., PHV-ECU) is activated according to a wake-up signal from an external battery charging facility. Specifically, when the external battery charging facility charges the high voltage battery, a charging plug of the external battery charging facility is connected to a charging inlet of the hybrid vehicle. A microcomputer of the PHV-ECU performs a wake-up operation according to a wake-up signal as a pilot signal output from the charging plug. Thus, the PHV-ECU is activated. The activated PHV-ECU converts the alternating current supplied from the external battery charging facility to the direct current, and supplies the direct current to the high voltage battery. Thus, the high voltage battery is charged. In this case, the PHV-ECU outputs the wake-up signal to the range electronic control device (range-ECU) to activate the range-ECU. The range-ECU drives and controls the range switching system, which is arranged in an automatic transmission, using an electric motor. During the charging operation, in order to prevent the vehicle from erroneously moving, the PHV-ECU instructs the range-ECU not to change from a parking range to other ranges even if a start switch operation is performed.
When the preliminary air-conditioning function is to be executed, for example, an electronic control device (i.e., electronic control unit or ECU) determines according to an instruction from a user or a timer operation that it is necessary to start operating the air-conditioning system. In this case, the ECU outputs the wake-up signal to the air-conditioning electronic control device (i.e., air-conditioning ECU) so that the air-conditioning ECU is activated. Thus, the air-conditioning ECU starts to execute the air-conditioning operation in a compartment of the vehicle so as to control the temperature of the compartment to be a set temperature before the user gets on the vehicle.
Thus, even when the main switch is in the off state, a method for activating the electronic control device with the wake-up signal from an external device even when the main switch is in the off state, is disclosed in JP-2004-197585-A (corresponding to US 2004/0122565 A1). The ECU in JP-2004-197585-A controls a power source circuit, for generating a voltage to operate a microcomputer, to transit from an inactive state to an active state according to the wake-up signal. Thus, a stand-by current or a waiting current, which is consumption current when the electronic control device is in a sleep mode so that the ECU stands by a wake-up signal, is reduced.
The hybrid vehicle having the plug-in function and the vehicle having the preliminary air-conditioning function do not grow popular sufficiently. Many vehicles do not have such functions. Accordingly, it is necessary to independently prepare both the electronic control device capable of being activated in order to execute the plug-in function and the preliminary air-conditioning function even when the main switch is in the off state and the electronic control device capable of being activated only when the main switch is in the on state.
In the above case, to prepare two types of the electronic control devices, when a printed wiring board having a circuit board, on which various electronic control elements and circuits are mounted, is independently developed, a development cost of both electronic control devices increases.
When two types of the electronic control devices are compared with each other, a part of the electronic control devices for executing a function when the main switch is in the on state is common. Accordingly, it may be possible to commonly use the part as a circuit board of each electronic control device. If the circuit board of electronic control devices is commonly used, the development cost of both electronic control devices is much reduced. Thus, the manufacturing cost of each electronic control device is also reduced.